The number of migrants crossing the English Channel has already exceeded the annual total recorded in 2023, an increase of 12% compared to the same period last year. The figure is far from 2022.
The number of immigrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom this year, through the English Channel, already exceeds the total recorded for the entire year 2023, according to data published this Saturday by the British government.
The data reveals that 29,578 migrants crossed the English Channel this year in small boatswhich connects France with the United Kingdom, 141 more than the annual total recorded in 2023 (29,437), but still far from the record reached in 2022 (45,774).
Comparing with the same period in 2023, in which 26,501 migrants made this crossing irregularly, there was an increase of 12%, but 22% less than that registered in 2022.
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, Around 420 people arrived in the UK on seven ships on Friday.two days after France reported that it had rescued 76 immigrants in three boats who asked for help when encountering difficulties in the middle of the journey.
Three people died on Wednesday and 12 were rescued after a boat sank while trying to reach the UK. Last week, a baby died in a similar way.
Baby dies in shipwreck in the English Channel
This year, France recorded 48 migrant deaths, and its coast guard warned numerous times about the dangers of traveling through the narrowest part of the English Channel, located between the cities of Dover, United Kingdom, and Calais, France. which is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.
According to French coastal authorities, more than 600 ships pass through the English Channel every day and weather conditions are “treacherous” even when the waters are calm, with an average of 120 days a year of strong winds.
Source: Observadora
